This invention pertains to the field of database searching, and more particularly, searching an intellectual property database.
It is commonly desired by those within the legal practice, including law firms, practitioners, patent attorneys and agents, search firms, technology transfer managers, corporations, corporate Intellectual Property (IP) departments and the like, to extract relevant publications from an intellectual property database (e.g. information stored locally on CD-ROM, stored on network storage devices through a local area network, or stored on remote database systems through one or more disparate network paths, e.g. the Internet) with a predetermined expectation of accuracy. Relevant publications as used herein refer to publications that fall within the scope of having pertinence to a searcher, in accordance with a predetermined standard of analysis.
Accuracy, herein, is defined as the ratio of relevant publications actually retrieved (by a search system) to the total number of relevant publications within an initial set of publications. A search may be performed to determine one's right to use a product or right to produce a product, where the product may include an apparatus, composition, method, system, or a service (referred to as a reference entity, herein). As used herein, the term “infringement search” is meant to include any or all of a variety of terms used in the art to refer to database searching, including but not limited to “right to use search,” “right to produce search,” “clearance search,” “infringement search,” “freedom to operate,” etc. Efficiency and accuracy may be of essence.
Methods of extracting IP data from databases are known that utilize keywords, annotations and publication summaries in retrieving publications. Algorithms that evaluate term frequency or assign specific weight to specific terms for effectually returning publications of greater relevance are also known. Also, methods are known that comprise the step of rephrasing portions of patent publications, such as the “Title,” “Abstract” or “Claims,” to conform to standard industry lexicography. Finally, search methods are known that match a set of “synonyms” to a specific search query to ensure that publications are not ignored solely due to differences in semantics.
While such methods are useful, improved results may be realized by search methods that take into account the inherent nature of infringement searches, as contemplated by the present invention. In conducting an infringement search for a reference entity, it is difficult for the searcher to conceptualize the range of relevant publications, due to the depth and complexity of the legal bounds of patent publications. Further, since an infringement search is generally conducted in consideration of a physically-existing object, the scope and variation of characteristics susceptible to infringement may be large. Although known methods may be helpful in preventing the searcher from missing relevant publications in certain instances, such methods only marginally increase the speed and efficiency of an infringement search. Efficiency, as used herein, is defined as the ratio of relevant publications retrieved to the total number of publications retrieved by a search system.